Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Veggies

Every once in a while, I see a recipe on Pinterest that I can't stop drooling over. This pasta recipe was one of them. Of course, the day I see it, Graham had to go to Kentucky to fix a plane, so I waited for him to get home to make it. It was supposed to be a one day trip, turned into several days, and he finally got home Sunday night.

I made this on Monday and It. Was. Epic. Seriously. We were both making appreciative noises with every bite, Graham went back for seconds, and then as we cleaned up the kitchen we both kept taking bites out of the pasta left in the pot. I was forced to put it away and pick up the kitchen, just so we'd stop eating it.

I made a few changes to the original recipe, and I'm glad I did. I'm sure it would have been delicious the way it was written, but I'm not exaggerating by declaring it the best pasta dish I've ever made.

Pesto Pasta with Chicken Sausage & Veggies
(Recipe adapted from this one.)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. of Brussels sprouts, trimmed & sliced in half. 
• 4 chicken sausage links, sliced in 1/4" coins (This brand I found at Whole Foods was amazing!)
• 1 red bell pepper; thinly sliced
• 1 red onion; thinly sliced
• 1 cup of pesto
• 1 lb. of a short cut pasta (I used orecchiette)
• 5-6 cloves of garlic; minced
• 1/4 c. white wine (I used Pinot Grigio)
• salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Toss Brussels sprouts with olive oil, then salt & pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, and begin cooking pasta (according to package directions) when you start on the veggies & meat.
3. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add veggies & sausage and cook until veggies are tender and caramelized, and sausage has browned. 
4. Add garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.
5. Deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up all the brown bits. Let the wine reduce and turn the heat off. 
6. Drain the pasta and add back to the pot. Add the Brussels sprouts, vegetable & sausage mixture and pesto to the pasta. Toss to coat evenly and add salt & pepper to taste. 
7. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan.